Cincinatti Zoo gorilla not at fault. The parent of the boy is.

This whole Gorilla shooting thing is going way out of control. I find it hard to blame the zoo for not keeping an eye on one of its guest’s children. Although I don’t have a child, I know what it takes to prevent your toddler from falling into an enclosed animal area at the zoo. First, you must keep an eye on your child at all times. My mother was very protective and always used to tell me that she was afraid of some nutjob kidnapping me. (I was a cute kid living in southern Florida, where a 9-year-old boy was abducted, raped and killed.) Second, you must physically hold them to keep them from wandering. Better yet, put the kid on a leash. Third, as an adult (who I’m assuming is literate) you must read the warning signs and obey the zoo’s rules. There are always signs at zoos that warn against leaning on rails or climbing fences. I’m 99% sure that this ordeal could have been avoided and was the fault of the parents, unlike a CNN writer, who claimed it merely “was an accident” and that the blame shouldn’t be put on the parent nor the zoo. The child “went under the rail, through wires and over the moat wall,” according to the zoo’s director Thane Maynard. The parent involved in watching the child was “distracted” for longer than just a few seconds, as she claims. If I had to guess, I’d put the amount of time it took for the child to get through that obstacle course would be at least five minutes. In toddler time, that’s huge and it’s an important element to include in the investigation into the family.

The video footage played on television isn’t enough to get the seriousness across to viewers. The first time I watched the 10 second video, I was convinced that the 400 pound gorilla was just taking care of the human child like its own. It wasn’t until I watched the full video of the incident that I almost got sick to my stomach. The gorilla didn’t get angry nor did he beat the toddler, but he was pulled around like a lifeless baby doll. If it was my kid, I would’ve jumped down into that pit to rescue my baby. Granted, the animal might attack me for entering its territory, but in the wild, parents protect their offspring and humans shouldn’t be any different. Sara Palin would be proud of this “Mama Grizzly” fighting for its baby cub.

Many people questioned the legitimacy of shooting and killing the gorilla. Would it have been more humane to simply sedate the gorilla? Experts said that would’ve been a big mistake, because the initial “pain” from the dart would anger and confuse the animal to potentially harm the child. The incident lasted for 10 minutes. Had the gorilla been injected with a tranquilizer, it might have lasted longer. Some experts estimate the tranquilizer would have taken anywhere from 10 to 45 minutes to take effect.

Children can be fast and sneaky, so I somewhat understand how easy it is to lose track of a little tyke if YOU AREN’T PAYING ATTENTION. I have a little niece and she’s a quick little rascal, but if I’m in charge of watching her, I watch her like a hawk. The government should take the child away from the parent(s) for negligence and child endangerment. UPDATED EDIT: The mother should be given a stern warning and tips on how to better take care of her children. At the very least, she should be given child leashes.